


Broken Nose and Solemn Woes

by Nik_Knight



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Demons, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, nose bleeds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-18 03:14:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21770851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nik_Knight/pseuds/Nik_Knight
Summary: After waking up with a bleeding nose, Hacker quickly needs to find someone to help stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, the only person awake is the Engineer, the one person on the team she isn't sure she can trust. Especially with her secret hanging on the line.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Broken Nose and Solemn Woes

She woke with a start. Whatever unfortunate situation that took place in her dream was quickly forgotten after she briefly collided with the concrete ceiling of their makeshift bedroom. She had stopped herself quick enough not to brake her nose, but just barely. She still smacked her face against it hard enough that a moment later blood was dripping down her face. 

Covering her bleeding nose, she lept from the top bunk choosing to forgo the small ladder. She landed silently next to Kitty’s bunk and glanced back at her companion who was sleeping deeply with her arms flailed out comically. As usual.

She slipped out of the room and hurriedly made her way to the bathroom, thanking the stars that they were at least on the same floor. As she entered the large community bathroom, the automatic lights flickered on, causing her sensitive eyes to hurt, making her flinch. Still, she marched to one of the sinks and pulled her hand away from her face to look at the mirror. Blood fell from her hand and chin with a steady stream trickling from her nose. She was glad it wasn’t broken, but there would definitely be a bruise in the morning. 

Sighing, she turned on the faucet and washed most of the blood off her face. The blood kept flowing, and didn’t show signs of stopping by itself. She grabbed a paper towel from a dispenser. (A normal dispenser, not one of Engie’s miracle machines. Through, the idea of healing towels would have been appreciated for this situation.) She pressed it to her nose, pinching gently. She had many nosebleeds in her youth from dry, winter air, but collision-based nosebleeds were not her expertise. She usually did not survive a Scout’s bat to the face long enough to know how to deal with one. 

Ten minutes passed by and the paper towel dispenser had run dry. The towels, on the other hand, were actually very wet. With blood. Nikki didn’t dare bother Medic in the middle of the night with a nosebleed, but it was only 1 am. If she was in luck, the Engineer could possibly still be awake. Hopefully he could dispatch an actual dispenser and end the bleeding before she passed out. After all, the Hacker was a very small girl who had a maximum 8 pints of blood in her body and she was sure she may have already lost half a pint. Grabbing the last handful of paper towels, she quickly made her way to Engie’s workshop, leaving the bloody mess behind her.

A slim line of light shone through the workshop door as the RED hacker made her way through the dark halls. She rapped her knuckles against the door and heard the fumbling of papers and clattering pencils before Dell finally managed to open the door.

“It’s too damn late for y’all to be up n’ bugging me, scoot— oh!” He looked down at the girl before him. He wasn’t wearing his goggles, so the Hacker was able to see surprise cross his eyes for a second before he settled on being bashful. “Sorry, darlin’, I usually don’t see ya awake so late. Actually, I usually don’t see you awake much anyway, but— hey are you alright, hun?” He crouched over a small bit to look at her face closer. It looked like a strange position for him since for anybody else he’d usually be looking up to see them, but the Hacker was just a smidge shorter than him. He stepped aside to let her in and shut the door behind so their voices wouldn’t carry and wake the others. “What happened?”

She sat in the office chair that was rolled over to her and took a moment to take in the workshop. It had been a while since she’d been in here, and there was far more blueprints scattered around and taped to the walls. Spare tools and prototypes were strewn into the corners. Without realizing how close the Engineer was to her, she flinched when the rubber-clad hand grabbed her shoulder rather roughly.

She turned to him and winced as the fangs under her gums tore through. It was involuntary, but she was too focused on the Engineer to pay too much mind to it. Instantly, his face softened and he let go and stepped back from her.

“S-sorry there, sweetheart! I didn’t mean to shake you up too hard! I was just spy checking. It isn’t often that you stay so quiet for so long...” He looked nervous, he was staring straight into her eyes, his own mixed with worry. Her eyes must have changed color upon her being frightened. Slowly, she moved her hand from her face, and blood began to trickle slightly from her nose.

“Yeah,” she began, trying to keep her fangs hidden. “Sorry. Nose is bleeding, and I’m too busy swallowing blood to be chatty.” She covered her face with the already saturated towel.

Engie looked sympathetic for a moment, but quickly moved to uncover a building from under a tarp to reveal a dispenser. He flicked it on and gestured to it sheepishly, inviting the Hacker to sit by it. Eagerly, she pushed against the ground, rolling herself in the chair next to the dispenser.

The familiar, cool, red wisps wrapped themselves around the Hacker, healing her quickly. The pain in her nose was gone in a moment and the bleeding stopped almost immediately. She sighed happily, swinging her legs as they dangled from the chair. 

“Much better,” she said, smiling at Engie. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, still flustered from his mistake earlier.

“That’s good. Uh, sorry again for startling ya. With the BLUs in the base, I’m a little more paranoid that the BLU Spy’ll be trying to get in.” He leaned against the machine.

“Oh that’s alright. I get easily startled. I’m almost as bad as Spy sometimes.” Being overhealed made her feel more chatty finally, and she was, for once, glad to talk with Dell. “Blu Spy may be a spy, but he isn’t nearly as curious as you might think. Not like ours, anyway.” Engie nodded, then pulled up a stool to sit on. He stroked his chin with his organic hand and looked at her.

“Say, kiddo, mind if I ask ya something?”

“Go for it,” Nikki said. She wasn’t one for keeping secrets, although Engineers made her worry. She would lie if he asked her about her tech. Hackers don’t share code, anyways. Not good practice.

“I’m not sure if I ever see it right, but... Do your eyes change colors?”

Oh. She wasn’t expecting that, but as she tongued at her fangs behind her canines, she supposed he must have seen something. But how could she answer? Yes, they change colors because I’m a demon and also have scary fangs and huge wings? Yeah, not likely.

Yet after a few awkward moments of silence, she nodded.

“Ah. Okay. How? Or why?”

Of course. Well, now she was in trouble, and she physically felt uncomfortable to be in the workshop. Her underlying fear of Engineers were creeping up on her again.

“They’re doing it again,” Engie commented. He looked intrigued, but faint, terrifying images of interested eyes watching her clinically emerged in the back of her mind. She didn’t know what to tell him. There was no way of explaining herself to him without feeling like she was putting herself in danger. She wanted to believe that Engie would be understanding, that he’d not try to hurt her, but she was afraid, so very afraid. Too afraid to move.

“Hacker? You alright?” Engie soon looked more concerned than interested. Then his face paled when he noticed the Hacker’s scarlet eyes were also watering. “Oh gosh, honey! Don’t cry, I’m sorry! You don’t have to answer! I shouldn’t have asked something like that...” The stout man was panicking a bit. He took a hankie out of his pocket and wiped away the few tears that fell. The girl sniffled and Dell did what he thought was best in that moment; he hugged her.

Surprisingly, Nikki just sniffled and wrapped her arms around him as well.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “It’s... complicated. I do it when I’m scared.”

“Don’t be scared, sweetheart, it’s just little ol’ Engie. I ain’t gonna hurt ya.” He hugged tighter for a moment before gently letting go. When he looked at her again her eyes were creamy coffee brown, back to normal, if not a little puffy. 

“It’s just, I’ve always been afraid of Engineers,” she admitted. “Y’all are so smart on a level I can’t even comprehend. Then I come in with some new tech and cheat against your hard work. I don’t want you to hate me. Like you said, you’re wolverine mean. I don’t wanna see that side... not from you, Dell...”

“Did that BLU copycat do something to you, hun?” He asked, referring to his counterpart. “I swear he won’t know his socket wrench from his jag if he’s done something to hurt you—“

“No, no, it’s not like that,” she explained. “One time I bested him and told me that I was a cheater. I guess I am, but it stung.”

Engie shook his head and sighed. “We’re all just doing what we’re paid to do, sweetheart. Don’t you worry none about us Engies. We can take care of ourselves. Don’t need to be hurting little girls none to much to get our jobs done.”

“Thanks, Engie...”

"No problem, sweetheart." He clapped her on the shoulder gently, then pulled her in for a little side hug. "I'm always here if ya need me, ya know."

"I know, I know." She gave him another smile before getting out of the chair and grinning at him. "I'm still not letting you see my codes. Bye now!" She snicked and leaped out of the room with a stupid giggle.

"Hm," Engie smiled as the girl pranced out of the room like the cat who got the cream. "Weird kid," he said fondly before heading back to his blueprints. "I think I prefer her that way."


End file.
